cartoonist, was born in Newtown, Sydney, NSW. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a Sydney sign-writing firm and studied at J.S. Watkins’s Sydney art school. He worked as a freelance on the Bulletin , Smith’s Weekly , Rydge’s and other Sydney publications, and drew adventure strips for Frank Johnson publications, including Powerman , Steele Carewe and Nick Carver of the Circus . At the beginning of WWII he joined an army camouflage unit, later transferring to a survey unit when he served in New Guinea. During the war he contributed to service annuals. Elena Taylor in Bluey and Curley: Portraits from an Era 1939-55 (Ipswich: Global Arts Link 2000, p.12, ill. p.13) mentions his cartoon, Don’t be carried away, Bert! from Stand Easy , published by the AWM in 1945 (original AWM). It depicts a soldier beginning to replicate a scene in a movie being watched in the jungle in which the hero is about to kiss the heroine and being dissuaded by his mate.
Rice’s WWII cartoons for the Bulletin include: “ – What’s the name of that ship, Major?”/ “ – WHAT ship?” 1941 (Craig Judd notes that Ted Scorfield had a cartoon with a similar gag in the same issue, p.17); “Natural-born Australian?” 1942 (officer to Aboriginal recruit); “I know you’re proud of your promotion, Lance-corporal, but don’t overdo it!” 1944; “Never mind what you did in New Guinea. Put your shirt on and get under the umbrella!” 1944 (wife to bare-chested husband); “O.K., no bully beef for three days and light duties!” 1944. His original Bulletin cartoon about art, “Top Button Undone!” (ML), published 22 September 1944, was included in Artists and Cartoonists in Black and White in 1999. Rice and Shine , an anthology of his wartime cartoons for the Bulletin , was published by Allied Authors and Artists.
In 1946 Rice joined Smith’s Weekly under art editor Les Dixon. His undated original cartoons, 'You should consider yourself lucky – Mr Hallstrom would have given me 75 (pounds) for it’ and 'Oh no! We couldn’t give you four years to pay – Why the furniture won’t last that long’, were donated to ML (PXD 840) in 1999 by the wife of a former reporter, along with over 20 other originals and a copy of the final issue signed by all the cartoonists. When Smith’s ceased publication on 28 October 1950, he went back to freelancing and worked on promotional material for Universal Films. At the end of 1955 he took over Bluey and Curley after Alec Gurney died (on 4 December 1955). Rice died in a car accident on New Year’s Eve 1956 and the strip was taken over by Les Dixon (from February 1957).
- Writers:
- Kerr, Joan
- Date written:
- 1996
- Last updated:
- 2007
